TERRAFORMING TERRA
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Wednesday, August 3, 2011

T Rex of the Sea in Manitoba

It seems that a site in Manitoba is a trove for
mosasaurs.That they disappeared at all
tells us pretty clearly just how awful even sea conditions were when the
extinction event took place.They had
the ability to travel and rely on the sea itself and they still did not make
it.

These fossils are in the Tethys
sea which was extraordinarily warm and may well have added to their
vulnerability during such an event.Of
course specimens from clearly colder waters would alter that argument.It is a field that invites such questions
although it will take decades to clarify many such ideas.

I have seen evidence of refugia
survivals out of Australia
to as recently as the end of the Ice Age so survival was at least possible in
at least one locale.More recent
survivals appear unlikely but I have also shown in certain situations that it
is not impossible.

However, a mosasaur is pretty
hard to hide so that appears rather unlikely.

Manitoba paleontologists have unearthed the bones of
a prehistoric sea creature approximately 80 million years old.

Scientists from the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre in Morden, Man.,
have dug up two mosasaurs, a huge reptile known as the "T-Rex of the
sea."

The dig site in southern Manitoba also
uncovered a prehistoric squid and bird fossils, giving scientists new insight
into what Western Canada looked like 80
million years ago.

The area has a rich history of offering up ancient sea creature
fossils.

The discovery centre is already home to a 13-metre-long mosasaur fossil
named Bruce, found in 1974 near Thornhill,
Man. A full-scale reproduction of
him is on display in the centre's museum.

In 2004, the remains of a mosasaur nicknamed Betsy were first found.
Ongoing work recently revealed the back of the skull.

In 2006, pieces of another mosasaur were discovered during a school dig
by participants from the town of MacGregor.
The specimen, nicknamed MacGregor, includes a jaw fragment, a vertebra and a
rib fragment.

And in 2008, another specimen, an 11-metre-long mosasaur nicknamed
Angus, was found just north of where Bruce was located. It is still being
excavated.

In 2010, crews unearthed yet another mosasaur. They returned to the
site this summer and during the excavation process they uncovered the latest
one.

Mosasaurs were air-breathing, scaly skinned, flesh-eating lizards that
swam in an inland sea during the Cretaceous Period, between 65 million and 135
million years ago, centre officials said. While they resemble modern
alligators, the monitor lizard of Asia and Africa
is considered its closest living relative.

They were named after the MeuseRiver in Europe,
near where the first mosasaur discoveries were made.

Curator Anita Janzic said the new find is significant because the
discovery of some shore bird fossils seems to contradict the idea that much of
the Prairies was under water at the time.

She said they expect to keep working at the southwestern Manitoba dig site for
several years and will write up their findings for academic journals.

"We are finding layer upon layer of exciting fossil discoveries,”
she said, adding it is amazing how one small dig site is producing such an
abundance of diverse fossils.

The excavation also has geologists buzzing about the appearance of a
previously unseen rock layer for southern Manitoba.

“This dig site is showcasing the most exciting five inches of rock that
I’ve ever witnessed,” said assistant curator Joseph Hatcher.

“This small layer of rocks is suggesting a rapid change in the
paleoecology and environment of prehistoric Manitoba. There is great science emerging
from this dig site that has our team very excited."

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Apr 2017 - 4.1 Mil Pg Views, March 2013 - Posted my paper introducing CLOUD COSMOLOGY & NEUTRAL NEUTRINO rigorously described as the SPACE TIME PENDULUM, September 2010 I am pleased to report that my essay titled A NEW METRIC WITH APPLICATIONS TO PHYSICS AND SOLVING CERTAIN HIGHER ORDERED DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS' has been published in Physics Essays(AIP) and appeared in their June 2010 quarterly. 40 years ago I took an honors degree in applied mathematics from the University of Waterloo. My interest was Relativity and my last year there saw me complete a 900 level course under Hanno Rund on his work in relativity,as well as differential geometry(pure math) and of course analysis. I continued researching new ideas and knowledge since that time and I have prepared a book for publication titled Paradigms Shift&. I maintain my blog as a day book and research tool to retain data and record impressions and interpretations on material read. Do join my blog and receive Four items of interest daily Monday through Saturday.